PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2017

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 09/17 www.petpla.net 13 MATERIALS / RECYCLIN G 13 New Zealand’s first integrated rPET plant rPET made in New Zealand The opening of Flight Plastics’ new washplant in New Zealand marks the completion of Australasia’s first complete rPET treatment and manufacturing facility of its kind. Flight Plastics, a family-owned company based in Wellington, New Zealand, has been manufac- turing plastics for over 40 years and began producing PET in the 1970s, in the form of rollstock and thermoformed plastic containers. Its UK factory, in Romsey, Hamp- shire, uses 75% recycled PET (rPET) in its packaging products, which are used in supermarkets across the country. The company installed similar technology in its New Zealand plant in 2013 and started taking in rPET flakes and turning them into new products the following year. The source of the rPET flakes was outside the country, which meant that New Zealand was importing washed and processed rPET, while whatever used PET the country was collecting was being bundled up and sent overseas for processing. Each year it imports 20,000 tonnes of virgin PET, which is used primarily for making bottles but also in the production of food trays. Around 8,000 tonnes of PET, mostly from bottles, is collected annually for recycling. Flight Plastics initiated a five-year programme in 2012 to research, introduce and install the most up-to-date extrusion and ther- moforming capability and capacity available. The NZ$12m investment was co-funded by the Waste Minimi- sation Fund, which is managed by New Zealand’s Ministry for the Envi- ronment. As well as the economic advantages, the Fund’s objectives include reduction of environmental harm and increasing benefits by recovering waste and preventing dumping or loss of control. The Waste Minimisation Fund’s conditions state that it is not intended to provide ongoing support for existing activities; as Flight’s reprocessing facility is totally new, the washplant clearly qualified for support and was the final piece in the first complete PET reprocessing plant in Australasia. It has capacity for up to 6,000tpa, which is more than the current volume of clear PET currently being collected in New Zealand, and can be expanded as “Kiwis” (New Zealanders) recycle more. Flight Plastics points out that making packaging from recycled rPET is not a “one shot exer- cise” – it is not something that can never be repeated. A single tonne of virgin PET can be completely recycled into a tonne of rPET, and then recycled again and again. The challenge has been to establish an end-use for the recycled mate- rial. The company’s experience of using rPET extensively in the UK means that it already has the experience and expertise to make food-grade containers. With the completion of its inte- grated plant, Flight Plastics can now supply customers with rigid containers and trays for meat, produce and manufactured foods, such as biscuits and confectionery, entirely from PET waste sourced within New Zealand itself. It is the only company in the country cur- rently able to do so. www.flight.co.nz